Sadness Hides the Sun
by Kiwisilence
Summary: Superboy/Martian Manhunter slash. After becoming a mentor to Superboy, J'onn begins a romance that might become the end of the Justice League.
1. Introduction

**Pairing: **Martian Manhunter/Superboy (a spin on Supermartian)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Young Justice

**Warnings:** There be slash in these parts! (There is nothing graphic, not even kissing). I'm making Conner physiologically 18 in this fic. He is an adult :p

* * *

Conner shifted slowly in his bed, not disturbing his partner. He carefully slid over his lover, focusing his super-hearing on his own movements to avoid making loud, sudden noises. Conner sat at the bed's edge, not covered by the Superman logo-adorned bed sheets and no longer entranced by the warmth of his lover's body.

His lover was a different hero than Superman, perhaps a better hero, who deserved to be idolized. That fact defined Conner's new life, but still astounded him.

Everything had been confusing to Conner. After leaving Cadmus, every taste and touch no matter how revolting or uncomfortable still felt enticing. Living in the real world without having to learn it from the memories and knowledge the G-Gnomes provided was thrilling – experiencing it mattered more to him than Superman's approval, especially now.

Despite how wrong and disgusting new experiences could be, Conner pursued them. Maybe that was what had led him to his current situation: basking in the warm, fuzzy glow of feelings that the Martian Manhunter sparked within him. Lust wasn't always a morally right feeling, but it was alluringly new to him.

J'onn was 135 in Martian years, dwarfing the clone's actual age of two, but the physiological age of 18. Superboy knew that such an age difference, even if the Martian was only 45 in human years, was looked down upon by modern culture. It would never find approval from the Justice League. It might have been approved of in ancient warrior cultures, but the Justice League were shoddy in comparison in terms of valor and morals.

J'onn stirred in his sleep, unconsciously grasping the sheets in search of Superboy's missing body heat. Conner turned his head towards the Martian, slowly grinning. J'onn had become more than what a lover had been defined by the G-Gnomes as. The Martian Manhunter was both a father figure and a lover, a friend and a mentor. The alien defined Superboy; helped nurturing, dominating, and caring for him beyond what the other Young Justice team could ever do.

Their relationship was wrong by modern human standards, but Superboy took comfort in their alien heritages. They were above human concerns. If Conner had wanted to follow human norms, he would have dated J'onn's niece.

"Conner…" J'onn mumbled in a husky, alluring voice that sounded soothing to Conner's super-hearing.

But Megan was everything J'onn was not. J'onn was calm, yet tactile and cunning. Megan's voice was shrill and obnoxious. Conner didn't respect her beyond being cordial towards a fellow team member. Megan would mature with age and maybe someday become like J'onn, but something in Conner could still not be interested in her. Megan did not inspire primal lust.

"Come back to bed," J'onn turned his head to the side, looking at Conner. Conner smiled, repositioning himself so that he was wrapped within the embrace of the Martian, hearing the comforting sound of his heartbeat as he fell to sleep.

* * *

Black Canary had unknowingly started their relationship, undoing a thread in the Justice League that might unravel the organization…

Dinah became a mother figure to Conner, training him and roping him into interactions with her on-again/off-again boyfriend the Green Arrow and his former sidekick Red Arrow. It started as an attempt to bring the two Arrows closer together and give Conner a chance to experience a semi-family, but had became a constant in the clone's life. The four acted like a family even when Dinah was not dating Ollie. Red Arrow had stopped pitying the clone and began enjoying teaching him how to live and experience the life of a typical human teenager. Roy Harper grew into liking being an older brother.

But that family life was ultimately unfulfilling for the clone – he still felt something missing. Green Arrow was human, not even a meta-human who could somewhat sympathize with Conner's powers. Conner craved interaction with those who could match him in terms of powers, which Dinah sensed and accepted. Acting like a human teenager was interesting, but left the clone dreaming of more.

Dinah had been the one to contact the Martian Manhunter, reckoning their shared powerful abilities and alien backgrounds could make the two have a better mentor/student relationship than she could provide. She could train, toughen, and push the clone in combat far beyond Superman's training, but she belonged to the human world that Conner, in his awkwardness, had not entered.

She had not known of the Martian Manhunter's interest in both men and women, nor of his budding desire for her son. She still did not know, but Conner expected her to grudgingly accept it and defend him if she would ever find out. Green Arrow already led a morally questionable life with his string of women before Dinah and Roy would probably grab his arrows and use it as an excuse to get revenge on the Justice League.

Only one superhero had the capabilities to discover J'onn and Conner's romance: Batman. As long as Conner could fool the Boy Wonder and J'onn could read and erase Batman's thoughts and memories, the couple felt secure in their relationship.

Although they were secure, their relationship still felt passionate, raw, and overpowering. J'onn saw the clone as endearing and innocently beautiful, deepened by the forbidden lust and power he felt over him. Conner felt accepted and ensnared by a Martian, who he respected, longed for, and inspired to be like.

Superman brought their relationship crashing down by finally taking an interest in his clone's life. Conner had once craved the Man of Steel's attention and used it to define his existence, but it felt annoying. Conner was still not in control of his temper like J'onn was – Superman needed to leave his life and return to his pattern of ignoring Conner unless he wanted to truly test Conner's hardened mentality and extensive training.

Conner's protectiveness for his Young Justice friends was nothing compared to feelings for J'onn.

* * *

AN: This is more summary for an intro chapter than I usually write, but should I detail more about Conner's interactions with his family (Black Canary, Green Arrow, Red Arrow)? I was thinking about only writing about them when they're involved in the actual plot and not try to write any flashbacks, but there will be flashbacks for how J'onn first started "training" Conner.


	2. Kill Your Sons

Chapter 2: Kill Your Sons

* * *

"I want to speak with Superboy…Conner," the Man of Steel slightly stumbled, becoming intimidated by Dinah's combative stance as she glared at him.

"Too late."

"He needs a mentor."

"He has a mentor."

"You can't teach him everything," Superman stepped forward, trying to send an equally imposing stare back at Black Canary, but the woman remained as reassured and confident as ever.

"I'm not his mentor. I-"

"Who is?" Clark's voice bellowed, coming out louder than he would have wanted it. He should have tried remaining kind towards his fellow League member, but his newfound possessive anger over his clone overpowered his typical rational.

"J'onn volunteered."

"He knows how much Conner-"

"Means to you? Do you even believe what you're saying?"

"I-"

"Want to ruin what he has."

"I'm his father."

"No," Dinah quickly stated, "You're the man who he was cloned from. Maybe he has succeeded the limits of the original DNA…"

Not liking the insinuation, Clark tried relaxing the tension of his face and forced himself to remain positive, "I just want to help…"

"Fine. But J'onn will still be his mentor."

Although a gut feeling warned Dinah against allowing the Man of Steel to see her pseudo-son, her motherly instincts also wanted the clone to finally meet the man he had idolized. Even if Conner no longer wanted to speak with Superman, he would be given the chance to find some sort of solace. Furthermore, Superman's status in the League somewhat forced her to comply.

* * *

"Superman wants to see you," J'onn whispered as he slowly massaged Conner's increasingly warm ear with the tip of his tongue.

"Why now? He hates me."

"His mind has changed. Such is the way of humans."

Although J'onn was the most rational and often sympathetic member of the Justice League, he could view human emotions too coldly as if studying humans were like some newfound tropical disease under a microscope. When compared to his species, humans had all-consuming faults vented through their emotions, but that didn't mean that J'onn was impervious to experiencing…those inferior feelings.

Conner's actions forced the Martian into experiencing basic human emotions and even though he should have looked down upon it, something caused him to propel forward and experiment with their attraction.

"He still doesn't like me. I'm beneath him."

J'onn stopped kissing Conner's ear and neck to turn around and face the clone, "You are far better than him."

"Why?" Conner yelled out, for once sounding all too similar to Superman.

"Let me show you," J'onn drawled as he focused his telepathy onto himself and the clone, forcing them to lay down and fall asleep on Conner's bed. In their conjoined mindscapes, J'onn could create mental images and reveal the secrets of other people…mainly Superman. Without words, Conner's mind could see what J'onn could understand through telepathy.

Superman was molded by clichés and predictable experiences – each contributing to the Man of Steel's excessive hubris, moral superiority, and arrogance of his own strength. A thousand different memories and readings of Superman's thoughts flashed before J'onn and Conner in the mindscape; the clone's opinion of the hero only worsened eagerly after viewing each.

Inversely, while his opinion of Superman degraded, Conner felt a surge of confidence in his own abilities. Superboy was a blank slate not bound with the same unflinching loyalty to justice as the man whose DNA he had been created from. He was not a small-town farmboy with the naivety to be manipulated; J'onn was feeding him the truth of Superman and it filled the clone with a sense…of blinding empowerment.

* * *

"Why do I smell him on you?" Superman wasted no time for formality when greeting his clone.

The two stood in the training room, chosen by Superman because sparring would decrease their oppurtunities to talk to one another. Although he wanted to reconcile with his clone, Clark still didn't quite know how. As a hero, Superman personified male strength; hopefully, his clone could somehow bond with him through sparring.

"I smell people on you – more than one person. Do they know?" Conner said in an equally blunt manner.

Conner grinned, but Superman's newfound desperation to become a father blinded him from seeing the small yet noticeable facial expressions of Superboy. The slightly upturned eyebrows and smug look set in the clone's eyes went unnoticed.

Superman, instead of becoming angry and demanding answers, tried speaking in a soothing, neutral tone, "I want to become your mentor. Why do I smell him on you?"

The lingering, musty scent on Superboy that other League mentors would not have been able to smell didn't provoke an immediate reaction over the welfare of his clone; Superman felt the pang of jealousy towards J'onn, who's amorous attentions might steal any chance the Man of Steel had of becoming a father. Although it was irrational, after heated conversations and pressure from Batman, Clark had grown obsessive over the idea of a son - no matter how the son had been created.

"You can't save everyone."

"I'm sorry for ignoring you," Superman whispered, trying to remain kind and ashamed of his actions. The other sidekicks would have broken down by know and forgiven him - perhaps the clone was more like Superman than the man of steel had thought or Conner was just an emotionless husk shaped by the G-Gnomes...Clark needed to be able to believe the former.

"I'm not sorry for not caring about you anymore," Conner swiftly replied, shattering Superman's daydreaming.

Finally, Superman focused on the clone before him, who carried a noticeable standoffish demeanor. Superboy stood more confidently, but not in a heroic-like pose that the Man of Steel often used for reporters. Conner's legs weren't closed together, but casually shifted apart as the clone began to cross his arms...

Superboy was prepared for confrontation – perhaps even a battle – a clash of the gods between the two strongest members of the Justice League. Suddenly, upon reflection, Superman's former fears of Conner replacing him returned – the clone was capable of becoming his equal, if not an even more powerful rival.

"You were created from me," Superman's voice thundered defensively. A part of Superman's mind still clung to hopes for the clone to become his son, but anger surged within him, both towards Superboy's reluctance and the obvious manipulations of the Martian Manhunter.

"Zeus defeated Cronus…"

"I can still fight you now," Clark's voice lowered slightly, but still was carried out an almost theatrical antagonizing ring. Inwardly, Conner laughed, thinking of how J'onn would react. Despite his Kryptonian heritage, Superman was a hero of humans and displayed some of their worst qualities.

"Do you even believe that?"

"Batman-"

"Doesn't need to know this," Conner stepped forward to glare into Superman's eye with only an inch between them.

"The League cannot condone what J'onn is doing. It's sick," Superman finally thought of the morality behind this situation, which emboldened his desires to become a protective father and hero.

"You're such an all-american hero. I know it is hard for you to not say anything, but-"

"This is final. I am alerting the League," Superman's voice cracked, before he gulped nervously.

"If I punch you, will it hurt?"

"Wha-"

Superman had not been prepared for the swift punch to his jaw and the cracking it caused. A trickle of blood pooled in his mouth, but it only served to aggravate Superman further.

"Even Kryptonians can bleed," Conner sneered.

_"J'onn, Superman knows," _Conner sent through the mindlink the Martian Manhunter had forged between the two.

_"I will be there soon. Dinah is away with Oliver and Red Tornado was reprogrammed to not come back to Mount Justice for several hours."_

_"Did you do that? What about the security cameras?"_

_"Red Tornado is also programmed to hack into them and delete or edit the footage."_

_"I...love you,"_ Superboy thought without confidence while inwardly relaxing over the precautions his lover has taken. Despite his inner feelings and telepathic communication with J'onn, he maintained his combative stance and challenging expression towards Superman.

Until J'onn could get here, Superboy would take thrill in releasing the pent-up anger directed towards his father.

* * *

AN: Anyway, thanks for the reviews/alerts - it gives me hope that I'm not the only one with a crush on the Martian Manhunter (honestly, what else could he want with that name?). If you like mentor/protege pairings, check out my community "Much More than a Sidekick."

Anyway, should this stay T or go into smut-acious M? I'll probably focus on the Arrow family next chapter - do you think Dinah, as Conner's pseudo-mom will accept Conner and J'onn and their questionable actions with Superman? Or should she not even find out? What do you think of J'onn's manipulations of Superboy?


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